


Of the First Meetings

by Crystal_Rose_Witch



Series: The Little Things We Call Love. [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Banter, F/M, First Meetings, Illness, Implied/Referenced Torture, Pre-Relationship, Rescue, Shakespeare Quotations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-20 07:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20671382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_Rose_Witch/pseuds/Crystal_Rose_Witch
Summary: Every great partnership has to start somewhere and a Vault is about as good as anything in the post war world. It would be better if one of them wasn't being held hostage and the other wasn't new to the wasteland though.





	1. Chapter 1

Sitting in Vault 114 was hell to Nick. Between staring at the dusty four walls that made up his impromptu prison cell and the inevitable torture that he was subjected to, including the ‘interrogation’ he just suffered through he was nearly at wits end but common sense told him he wasn’t going to be able to get free on his own so he had no choice but to sit and wait.

He had been leaning against the desk, arms crossed over his chest when the sound of Dino’s voice reached him. It sounded like someone was in the vault and making a right mess of things; killing the triggermen and just raising general havoc amongst the surviving men. Whoever this was it would have to thank them given they didn’t see him as a threat as well, “How you doin’ in there Valentine? Feelin’ hungry? Want a snack?” The idiot was now outside the window looking at him, clearly trying to get a rise out of the detective but a plan was brewing in Nick’s mind.

Dino wasn’t the sharpest or smartest person in the vault and if he could convince Dino that Skinny was out for him maybe he could sow enough chaos that it would allow him to escape, “Keep talkin’ meathead! It’ll give Skinny Malone more time to think about how he’s gonna bump you off!” People never gave credit to how observant Nick could be and he was planning to use that to his advantage as Dino tried to call him out on the statement, telling him he had nothing on him, “Really? I saw him writing your name down in that black book of his, ‘lousy cheating card shark’ I think were his exact words, then he struck the name across three times.” That as all it took to scare the triggerman as he started getting scared by just Nick’s words alone. Behind the triggerman though, at the other end of the atrium, Nick swore he saw the light glint off of a barrel before Dino’s head exploded; grey matter now stuck to the window making Nick back up slightly. Who ever that was must have either had an excellent aim or were damn lucky but he didn’t dwell on it as the sound of footsteps on metal alerted him to the gunman’s approaching position, “Hey you! I don’t know who you are but we got three minutes before they realize muscles for brains ain't coming back. Get this door open.” The person paused just below the window to search Dino’s still warm corpse before he heard clicking on the terminal followed by the door sliding open.

This was it, either the person would step through the door and shoot him dead on sight or they would give him a chance, “Nick Valen…tine?…” The woman’s question dropped off as she stared at him with wide eyes, taking in his appearance: his metal hand and the tattered trench coat and fedora, the parts of him she could actually see clearly in the dim lighting, “You…are Nick Valentine…right?” he nodded before striking his lighter, igniting the end of his cigarette and taking a drag off of it but keeping his head down the whole time so his fedora hid his eyes.

A stretch of silence spread between them and Nick was started to wonder how she managed to get to him this easily. From how the triggermen sounded the intruder had been hell on wheels but this suddenly timid and quiet woman was the exact opposite of what he had pictured, “Gotta love the irony of the reverse Damsel-in-distress scenario. The question is: why did our heroine risk life and limb for an old private eye?” His comment went unnoticed for the most part as she continued to stare at him but it allowed him to take in his rescuer’s appearance. The sniper rifle on her back must have been what she used to brain Dino a few minutes ago but she also had a small arm strapped to her thigh; a 10 mm that appeared to have seen heavy usage both as a gun and as a standard bludgeoning tool, Nick guessed she could actually hold her own in a fight.

Finally she answered, dipping her head to hide her eyes in embarrassment at being caught staring after he raised a brow at her, “My baby, Shaun, he was kidnapped but I don’t know where they went or who took him,” Her voice carried the same tone that he was used to hearing from parents that came to his agency but she also sounded vengeful which was a surprise, “I was told you would be able to help me find him,” Nick nodded again, taking another drag off of the cigarette as he felt her eyes settle back on him.

He was used to people staring but hers felt different, “Missing kid huh? Well you came to the right man, if not the right place but now ain’t the time, let’s blow this joint then we’ll talk,” He took one final drag off of his cigarette before dropping it to crush it out under his shoe. What felt like hours later the two of them emerged into a back alley on the darkened streets of the Commonwealth, "Ah look at that commonwealth sky. Never thought something so naturally ominous could look so inviting,” Nick adjusted his fedora as he looked back down to the woman as she stared lightly slack-jawed up at the sky, “ready to talk? How did you know where to find me?” Again he went ignored as she continued to stare at the stars, eyes fixed on them like she hadn’t seen them before, at least she wasn’t staring at him.

To Nick this woman must have just been a quiet type, a typical housewife of the prewar world who was subservient to her husband and not allowed to do much, “Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck; And yet methinks I have astronomy; but from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,” That made Nick stop, and look at her. Maybe this woman wasn’t as subservient as he thought if she was quoting a passage like that.

“You know Shakespeare?” It took everything he had to keep the smile out of his voice. Of all the authors this girl could quote she quoted one of the most famous prewar authors of all time and it was an offhanded quote at that which meant she would have to have been well-read before the war, “Not many know Shakespeare anymore, even the prewar ghouls…even fewer can quote it offhandedly like that.” He was impressed, to say the least, and it made him wonder what she was like before the war.

She looked to the side without moving before lowering her head, lightly rubbing the back of her neck, “Yeah…never cared for reading some of the stories but I loved drama and theater in high school and college so I was able to act them and quote them by heart,” She gazed fondly back up to the stars, her eyes wet with tears to where Nick swore he could see the stars reflecting in her eyes.

He turned his eyes back up to the sky as well, “And, constant stars, in them I read such art; as truth and beauty together thrive,” Had he been meaning to impress her? No, he wasn’t but it didn’t feel right to let the quote go unfinished, “That’s from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 14 and a very nice quote about astronomy.” Starting for the opening of the alleyway Nick looked back to her, “You heading back to Diamond City?” she nodded in agreement as she moved to keep up with him, “Why don’t we head back together? I owe you for saving me from that Vault,” He never did get his answer about how she found out where he was but that wasn’t important right now, “you like any other poetry or authors?”

She smiled as she fell into step beside him, “Oh don’t get me started. Chandler, Hammett, Poe, I have a lot of favorites.” At least the walk back to Diamond City wasn’t going to be boring as they started debating the Ins and outs of their favorite novels.


	2. Chapter 2

Diamond City was quiet when they made it back, Nick nodded to Danny who was just getting ready to change shift with the night guard for the gate but the gate guard nodded back in greeting, the woman just stayed beside Nick the whole time and kept her head down. The market was just as dead as the Fens but that was no surprise to the detective as it was nearing midnight but his companion was staying as close as she could to him without being uncomfortable; she mustn’t have been much of a night owl before. Then again Nick couldn’t blame her as the commonwealth at night was a completely different beast than it was during the day, more ferocious and deadly with shadowy tendrils and spaces that at the worst of times hid entire roads for at least a mile under the cover of darkness.

When the sound of footsteps behind him stopped Nick found himself turning around to see what had either gotten her attention or made her stop walking. She was leaning with one hand to the wall on the right side of the alleyway and not looking too good, “Hey are you all right?” She looked up to him and that was when he saw it. Her skin was pallor, around her eyes was a darker color like she hadn’t slept in weeks but then most concerning part of the underlying green tinge to her skin, “Come on, we’re almost to the agency…” Her reply was something that really struck him badly; it was mumbled and not coherent at all but that wasn’t even the worse part, the minute she let go of the wall and tried to move she pitched forward. Without thinking he dropped his cigarette to the ground, barely managing to catch her to keep her from going face-first into the plywood path, “You’re burning…” Without thinking much of it he picked her up bridal style, turning on his heels to take her to the agency as everything else was closed down until tomorrow morning.

Closing the agency door behind him Nick took her back to the ground floor sleeping area and laid her down on one of the beds, “What happened Nick?” Ellie poked her head into the room before coming around the corner to look at the woman, “So she found you but what happened to her?” Concern filled her voice as she held the underside of her wrist to the other woman’s forehead, “she has a fever…she was hail and healthy-looking when I saw her last,” Upon getting no response from the synth Ellie leaned against the wall and crossed her arms before crossing the room to where he was looking through a box, “What do you suspect she has? Based on all of her symptoms that are presenting.” Nick looked up from the box at her question before sighing and rubbing his eyes; a completely human reflex that he didn’t need to do.

“It looks like radiation poisoning, a pretty bad case of it at that since she’s turning pallor already,” Finding the Radaway he was looking for Nick set the box down, “I have no idea how long she’s had it but if I’m right she’s not been in the commonwealth long enough to actually know about rad sickness and how dangerous it is,” Turning to her Nick gave a soft smile, “Here,” He handed her a small handful of caps, “While I take care of her can you go get her something to eat?” Nick turned back towards the bed while preparing the Radaway for the still unconscious vault dweller.

Ellie smiled, taking the caps and heading for the door, “I’ll be back soon Nick, don’t disappear between now and the time I get back,” Nick just gave a huff at her barb before the door closed and the two of them were left alone in the agency. After hooking her up to the first of what he was sure was going to be a long line of Radaway doses Nick went to the far side of the room; collecting a bowl, a few cans of purified water and two washcloths before resuming his seat beside her bed. He cracked open one of the cans and poured it in the bowl, soaking one of the washcloths. Normally unfiltered water would have worked just fine but the poor woman was already suffering from overly elevated rads so purified water it was.

Carefully, Nick rung the washcloth out and started cleaning the dirt off of her face to see exactly how sick she looked; all the dirt, dust, and grime would obstruct his view of how pallor she actually was, “You really are something else kitten,” He stalled this hand over her forehead before metal smacking himself. There was no reason to be getting familiar with this woman. She probably wouldn’t want him around after this case, typical for people who asked him for help. After cleaning the dirt and grime off her face Nick couldn’t help but stare in slight awe at her. She was beautiful with creamy, flawless skin and jet black hair that fell in gorgeous wavy curls to her shoulders. He hadn’t gotten a good enough look at her eyes but if he had to guess they were either a rich velvety brown or a blue so deep you could drown in them.

Halfway through her third dose of Radaway she finally woke up, “W-what happened? where…where am…” Her voice felt scratchy and she was lightheaded but she was clearly alive. She fell silent as her eyes rested on Nick who currently had his nose in a book but from the bowl of water and used Radaway packets on the floor it was clear to her that she hadn’t been in the best condition, “Val…en…tine?” That got his attention as his head jerked up to look at her.

It was pleasing to know he was right, that she was blue-eyed but he set his book down and sat forward, “How do you feel?” All she gave was a thumbs up and a smile, eyeing him as he handed her a can of purified water, “You might be dehydrated, Radaway can do that to you as it tries to flush your system of the radiation,” She said nothing as she took sips from the now opened can but motioned for him to continue, “You had radiation poisoning, commonly called rad sickness. It’s treated with Radaway which is currently hooked up to you,” She glanced to her arm where the needle was located before looking back to him, “not much of a talker huh? Can’t blame you…a lot of people don’t like to talk to me,” Nick hadn’t meant it to come out like that but she shifted and put her feet on the floor, staring at him intently. He just hoped she didn’t try to stand up, who knew how that would go, “Ellie went and uh bought you something to eat,” He motioned to the bowl of noodles, “It’ll hopefully be light enough for you.” Handing the bowl to her she smiled and gave a soft nod before she picked up the fork and dug into them.

They sat in silence for a while as she finished the noodles until it seemed she couldn’t take the silence any longer, “I’m being completely rude,” Nick looked up from his book again as she spoke, “I know your name but…you don’t know who I am and yet you took care of me, nursed me back to health without knowing anything about me,” She placed her bowl in her lap then on the table again before focused her attention back onto the synth, “Since I asked you to help me find my son we probably should know each other’s names. My name is Sylvie Saint-Pierre…I’m…from Vault 111,” The sadness in her voice made his brow knit together in concern, “I went into the vault on the day the bomb dropped with my husband and three-month-old son…and I…I came out alone…” She studied her hands for a minute before looking back to him, a soft smile forming as she watched him light a cigarette.

Flicking his lighter closed he glanced up again, startled by her staring at him again, “Sorry…you don’t mind if I,” Nick motioned to the cigarette but she shook her head, “Do you smoke?” after she admitted she used to light up before having her son he offered the cigarette pack and lighter out to her, watching her take one out and light it. Sitting back he tucked them back into his coat pocket, “Let’s just not tell Ellie I’m letting you smoke…she’ll kill me.” Sylvie laughed, taking soft puffs off the cigarette in her hand as a silence fell over them again but this one was peaceful, comfortable even, a comfort the both of them could get used to.


End file.
